


In Our Living Years

by SimplySix



Series: The Adventures of Wallace and Nero [5]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Drama, FROM THE VAULT, IMPLICATIONS OF CHARACTER DEMISE, M/M, Multi, One Shot, dribble, old stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 22:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1619915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplySix/pseuds/SimplySix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short reflection of one, RED Sniper to his young daughter reveals that a pocket watch can do more than tell time. It can tell the story of one generation to another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Our Living Years

**Author's Note:**

> This story originally appeared on my TUMBLR page. I think it MAY have been on FFNET, but I don't think so. I am pretty sure I was 100% done with that website by the time this story came along. 
> 
> This story features a kind of alternate universe to "Je t'aime" where Nero didn't make it out of the Badlands.
> 
> So far, one of the only stories I have that TRULY INDICATES that I had plans to continue Wally and Nero's story arc past "Je t'aime" with the inclusion of their daughter, Katie.
> 
> Enjoy,  
> Six

"Hey, hey, Dad! DAD! DADDY! What's this!?"

A short, thin girl launched herself into the lap of the taller, slender man sitting in the worn, green chair. Her strawberry blonde hair flew out behind her while her bright blue eyes stared inquisitively around the man's newspaper.

She grinned with perfect, straight teeth as the man sighed and looked at her with a small half smile. His tinted glasses reflected the yellowed light and brought out the green in his eyes. 

He shook his head.

"Katie, my girl." he said, his voice heavy with an accent. "What is what?" 

"THIS!"

The man folded his paper and set it on the table beside his chair. He adjusted the little girl in his lap and lifted his head to see through his glasses. His eyebrows rose as the tiny fingers of his daughter clutched a worn, tarnished pocket watch. The delicate chain was wound around her pale hand as the familiar design peeked out from under her fingertips. 

He remained silent for a moment.

Finally, he shook his head and looked at the little girl.

"Where did you find this, Katherine?" he whispered. 

"In the library!" the girl said triumphantly. "It was hidden in a little box that had this lock on it. But, you know, I learned from a girl at school that you can pick locks with bobby pins! Did you know that, Dad!?" 

Wallace Mundy made a noise in his throat and adjusted his arms around the seven year old on his lap. 

"I thought I was payin' that school to keep you _out_ of trouble." he mumbled. 

"So, what is it, Dad?" Katie asked again. "I know I have seen you looking at it. So, I know it is important."

Wallace waited for another second before sighing and leaning back in his chair. His arms were large and tanned against his daughter's. He brought her closer and put his hands over hers. He gently opened her fingers and ran his along the edge of the familiar object. 

Katie gasped as the former RED Sniper pressed the latch on the side of the watch and the lid opened. Her eyes lit up while Wallace frowned slightly. 

Dust slid through the rays of the light as he leaned forward and stared at the hands. They had stopped a long time ago. 

They marked the end of something tragick and beautiful. 

"A long, long time ago," Wallace breathed against his daughter's ear, "there was a man that your father worked with."

Katie made a soft whisper as she listened intently.

She loved when her father told her about America. She wanted to go someday and see the great war zone where he was a brilliant sharpshooter. 

She wanted to go where her father had lost his heart.

"Really?" 

Wallace nodded.

"He was like you, you little sneak." 

Katie giggled as the Sniper tickled her ribs. She shook her head and pushed her father's shoulder. 

"Tell me." she said again. "Did this belong to that man?"

"Yes." Wallace replied. "This was his. He always carried this watch and the silver watch that I keep with me today.”

"Why?" Katie whispered. “Did they tell different times?”

“Both of them told time, but only one of them did _this_.”

The little girl squealed with a mixture of delight and terror as Wallace slowly turned the key on the side of the watch. She gasped as her hands and her father's hands began to disappear. She looked up at her father as they became invisible. 

"Well, what do'ya know." Wallace mused. "It still works."

"Where'd we go!?" Katie cried. "Are we ghosts!?"

"Spooks." Wallace corrected. "Ghosts implies we're dead, but we ain't. See?"

Katie was relieved when her father moved his hand and she could see the outline of a blue arm moving in front of her. She tried it out and giggled as the wavy parts of her body moved in front of her face. She laughed again as Wallace de-activated the cloaking completely.

"It makes us invisible!" 

Wallace nodded.

"Yup. But only so long as you don't move. If you move too much, you drain the battery or some nonsense. He explained it to me once, but I never did understand him. He had so many damn watches you know."

"He had more than the one you have and this one!?" Katie asked.

"Sure did." Wallace answered. "But he always carried the silver one. It was an heirloom from his family. He carried it around everywhere, even if he didn't use it. Kinda like this one here."

“Was the watch special? Not this one, but the silver one you have?”

“The silver one was the only thing he brought to the desert with him.”

Wallace winced. 

Yes. That was true.

It was also true that it was the only part left.

Well, the only _inanimate_ part that was left.

"Daddy, why do you have this man's watch? Doesn't he need it? Didn't he want to keep it?"

Katie looked at her Dad with worried, blue eyes. 

He had that sad, faraway look again. 

Like when Mommy had died.

Wallace smiled faintly. 

"You want me to tell this story or not?"

Katie nodded quickly.

"Yes!"

"A'ight then." Wallace said huffily. 

He frowned at the watch in their hands.

". . .this man was your uncle."

Well, so much for leaving the child without a burdened purpose.

Contrary to the Sniper's belief, the young girl in his arms sucked in her breath and stared at the watch like it was sacred. Her tiny fingers touched the worn, shiny glass of the face and trembled. 

"Uncle!?"

Wallace swallowed hard.

"Yes. Your Mum's brother, rest Her soul."

Katie was intrigued. 

She did not know her mother. She was a baby when she died, but her father had showed her pictures. She was a beautiful woman with long, red hair and pretty, green eyes. She had a nice smile. 

"Well, where is this Uncle!?" she asked innocently. "Did you fight with him? Does he live in America still? Did he go home to his other family? Why did he leave this with you if it meant so much?"

Wallace painfully shook his head and forced himself to stay in control. He held his daughter's hands and remembered the Spy's face and Evie's words. 

"Your uncle. . .worked. . .with me in America." he said, shaking. "He. . .was a small, slender guy. He was pale, like you and your Mum, but he had coal black hair and steel, blue eyes. He was quick, smart and cunning. Just like you, you goose!"

Katie laughed as Wallace nuzzled her cheek with his nose. She put a nervous hand on her father's face. She put her head on his shoulder as her heart began to ache like it did when she missed her mother.

She winced.

"He's. . .he's with Mum, isn't he, Daddy?"

Wallace painfully closed his eyes and brought Katherine closer to his chest. His heart was hurting so badly he was afraid if he let his daughter go, she'd leave him, too. He nodded and tried to keep the tears from spilling into her blonde hair. 

Her hair ribbons blended in with the fine, silken strands as the Sniper kissed the side of her head. 

"Yeah, baby." he rasped. "Yeah, he is."

Katie was silent for a long moment. She stared down at the watch in their hands. She noticed that since her father had opened it, the time had started again. She was learning to add and subtract time in school. They had practised setting watches yesterday.

"Wotcher, Katie?"

Wallace raised an eyebrow as Katie took the watch in her hands alone. He gazed down at her as she frowned with concentration. Her tiny fingers worked the key in the watch until the time had been set to match the clock on the mantle. He was going to praise her for her work, but remained silent when she closed the lid.

Katie held the watch for a moment before giving it to her father.

"I am sorry I got into your things, Daddy." she breathed. "I won't do it again, I promise. I just. . . didn't know. . .it was like Mommy's room."

Wallace looked at Katie with a start before letting his face melt into a helpless smile.

"Oh, Katie. . .c'mere."

Katie wrapped her arms around her father's neck and held him tight as Wallace hugged her to his chest. She smiled as he kissed the side of her face and held her for a moment before leaning her back. 

Wallace smiled.

"I jus' didn' want you to be upset cause she ain't here." he said gently. "I didn' want all that stuff remindin' ya you were left with me. . .and. . .you know, I send ya to school with Vegemite instead of jam."

"I like it." Katie said with a grin. 

"Cause you're my girl." Wallace said, grinning back. 

He smiled sadly.

"But, you're getting to be my BIG girl. I suppose you deserve to ask questions. Yer smart. . .like yer Mum and Uncle. I shoulda figured you'd find this thing."

Katie looked at the watch curiously as Wallace handed it back to her.

"It was my uncle's, right?" 

Wallace nodded.

"Yup."

"Did he tell time to your other war soldiers?"

Wallace laughed softly.

"More like cut their time." he joked. "He was a Spy."

Katie's eyes lit up.

"A SPY?" she asked dramatically. "Like Black Widow! Or, OR like BATMAN! I mean, he had special, invisible watches!"

Wallace laughed again.

"You've been readin' too many comic books." he said. 

He shook his head.

"He gathered intelligence for the team. He used stealth and cunning to come up on his victims unawares."

"Your team, Daddy?"

Wallace hesitated long enough for Katie to realise the answer was "no."

Katie looked at the watch.

"The bad side?" she whispered.

"No, Katie." Wallace said firmly. 

He forced his daughter's face upward. 

"There were no BAD sides." he reprimanded. "He was a good man, and if it weren't for me, he'd be alive today."

Katie's eyes were scared and frightened. She began to tremble as tears started to well up under her eyelids.

"You. . .you killed him. . .Daddy?"

Wallace painfully begged Evie to forgive him.

This speech was written for him and was to be read when the kid was in her double digits. Not half blubbered in the middle of the night when she was barely to his knees.

"He protected me when I fell in love with your Mum." he breathed. "Because he defended me, our boss. . ."

"The lady that ate cigarettes, right?"

Wallace smiled half heartedly as Katie wiped the tears out of her eyes with her fist. 

". . .yeah, that one." he answered. "Our boss had him killed. She killed him because he loved his sister, and I loved her, too, and didn't care about sides, or war or being good at shooting."

Katie watched Wallace put his hands around hers. They held the watch together as Wallace sighed.

"They tried to shoot your Dad, and he didn' see it comin'." he whispered. "Me, yer big, scary Dad with the best shootin' skills in the world, didn' see that Sniper's rifle beam."

Katie was terrified now. Her whole body was shaking in his arms.

The Sniper shook his head.

"Your Uncle. . .he stepped in front of it for me." he finished. "He was brave, and he died so that your Mum and I could runaway and get married and move here to England and have you. He wanted that. He did. He'd be happy to see you.

"He'd prolly be damn proud that you picked a lock at age seven with a bobby pin."

Katie smiled through her tears as she tried to wipe them away again. She sniffled and shook her head.

"I cheated." she whispered. "I used a flathead screwdriver, too."

She laughed as her father hugged her tighter. 

Maybe this would make more sense when she was older. Maybe she would understand in the later years. Perhaps she would be able to live up to her mother and uncle's great gifts. 

Without them, there wouldn't be her. She understood that much.

"So, does that mean I can go in Mommy's room now, Daddy?"

Wallace nodded.

"Any time you want, love." he murmured. "You can go in there whenever you want."

Katie thought for a moment again before looking up at her father's sad face. 

"Daddy, will you tell me what this all means when I am older?"

Wallace looked down at her. 

It was like starin' into _his_ eyes.

"I'll tell you anythin', darlin'." he whispered. "As long as you promise not to go anywhere, okay?"

Katie nodded fiercely and hugged her father tightly.

"I won't leave." she said bravely. "I won't leave you!"

Wallace winced before setting the child back and looking at her. He smiled and lifted the Cloak and Dagger thoughtfully.

"Seein' as you know about him now, there's no point in hidin' it anymore."

Katie gasped as Wallace wrapped her hands around the watch. She looked at him, trembling. 

"Daddy. . .this. . ."

"Yer a Big Girl, remember?" Wallace asked, tapping the child's nose with his finger. "Sides, he'da wanted you to have it. . .specially since you seem to have that Spy gene in you anyway."

Katie smiled. 

She held the watch to her chest and hugged it.

"I will take good care of it, I promise."

"No abusin' the Invisibility on that, young lady!" Wallace warned, shaking a finger at his daughter. "I don' want NOBODY to know you have that! You got it?"

Katie nodded and lifted her right hand.

"Scout's honour."

"Good.” Wallace answered as Katie hummed a tune and stared down at her new treasure. 

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Katie?"

"What was my uncle's name?"

Wallace's face tightened for a moment. His greying, brown hair fell into his hazel eyes as he stared down at his curious daughter. He felt his age catching up to him as he shook his head gently.

"Nero." he breathed. "Your uncle's name was Nero DeLaroux."

Katie gasped.

"Ooooh!" she cried. "Like MY name! MY name is DeLaroux-Mundy! You and Mummy gave me BOTH names!"

Wallace nodded. It felt like the bastard was backstabbing him. 

Katie didn't notice as she giggled and held the watch. 

"I have a funny life, but I like it." she said happily. 

She looked up at Wallace with a firm nod.

"I love being your daughter, Daddy."

She smiled as Wallace swept her upward and held her tightly. She giggled as his stubble tickled her cheek. She kissed his jaw and nodded as the Sniper set her on the floor. 

"Enough story time tonight." he said, rising to his feet. "Go on up to your room and get ready for your bath. You have school tomorrow." 

"Okay!" Katherine DeLaroux-Mundy said happily. "You'll come help me, right?"

"Yes. I don' want Barbie Bubble Bath all over the floor again." Wallace said with a frown. "It took forever to get that off those tiles."

Katie laughed. 

The Cloak and Dagger swung from its chain in her hand as she turned to face her father. It was like seeing through the hour glass as the little girl smiled. 

"I love you, Daddy! Thank you for telling me about Uncle Nero! I will make him proud!"

As she bounded out of the living room, the Sniper stood in front of the fireplace with a painful burning in his heart. He shook his head and put his hand over his chest. Beneath it was a fine, silver chain with a ring attached to it. He closed his eyes and trembled. 

"I love you, too, Katherine." he whispered. 

He couldn't tell her. 

Not now.

She wouldn't understand.

How could she?

How could he be expected to tell a little girl that he wasn't her birth father? That her biological father had died saving his sorry ass? Or that her Mum hadn't been his wife or the BLU Spy's sister. 

She had been the RED Pyro, and had made the ultimate sacrifice for them.

Wallace looked up at the pictures along the mantle. 

A picture of him and a small, slender woman stared at him. The firelight glinted off fiery red hair and green eyes. Her skin was pale and her face was fierce. She was smiling and had her arms around him and another man. 

A familiar, backstabbing bastard in a blue, pinstripe suit. . .

"You shoulda been the one that lived, you bastard." Wallace hissed painfully. "You shoulda stayed here and taught her right! I ain't goin'ta do right by her, just like I let Evie die! I let YOU DIE.

"You both left me here."

Wallace angrily wiped tears out of his eyes and turned away.

He could feel his hands on his shoulders. Hear his fucking voice whispering in his ear. The Sniper shook it off and looked down.

How did one tell their only child that she was the only, surviving part of his love with the man named Nero DeLaroux?

That she was _Nero’s_ daughter; and yes, Nero had died saving the former RED Sniper from a bullet meant for him. It wasn't because he had loved Evie.

It was because they had loved _one another_.

"Still love him." the Sniper mused. "Dead nine years and I still love you, you fuckin' Spook."

Wallace Mundy raised his head and took a nervous breath. He stared at the picture with a small smile. 

"Well, GHOST now, I guess." he said, louder. "I wish I woulda told you I loved you more often. . .Nero. . .more often. . .in the livin' years."

Wallace paused for a moment longer before hearing violent splashing echoing over the edge of the bathtub upstairs. 

He groaned as he heard Katie's wild laughter follow soon after.

"Not again."

He shook his finger at the portrait. 

"This is YOU two's fault!" he cried.

As the RED Sniper left the room, a whisper ran across the carpet. From the fire place, wood crackled. Slowly, a pale, blue hand rested on the mantle. From it drew a faint arm, shoulder and face. 

Under a blue balaclava, a smile followed after Wallace.

_"But who better to raise a Spy than its counterpart?"_

The figure smiled again as it disappeared.

_"It is never too late to say it, mon amour._

_"I will always love you, too."_

 


End file.
